Enjoyed watching
The storyline was awesome. That makes it worth watching. I personally felt that the main leads lack emotions. Although I liked how the characters were portrayed, I couldn't really connect to them. Meanwhile the side characters were more natural. You could easily feel the emotions they were trying to convey. Also, I feel like the ending was too hasty. It wasn't smooth like the rest of the storyline.But overall, I will recommend it to anyone who like strong female leads. And a really good revenge story.
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Slow burn with compelling plot
Although giving a heavy impression of a romance story, I would emphasise that this is definitely not the focus. The focus is revenge and power struggles. The plot is very strong and it's very nice to see that although the female lead is cunning, she makes mistakes and she does not always win. But still, you can clearly tell she learns and grows smarter. I also like that she doesn't forget the people who went against her (including male lead). You'll get a lot of female empowerment and things coming together beautifully. The acting was also amazing, even of support characters.However, although I enjoyed the plot, we got very much just the bare bones of romance. It was there, but it took a long, long, long time to develop. So if you need couples falling in love quickly (or even medium-speed) and show their love and trust, you won't get that here. They scheme against each other, behind each others back and also use each other. And they do that for most of the drama. Since romance is the main criteria for the shows I watch, this did bother me. I'm not against overcoming trials and tribulations (that's the most fun part imo), but it should come to a conclusion in reasonable speed. Also, the outfits were not my cup of tea. The collars are just not for me and I enjoy the dresses of other costume dramas a lot more. Probably a choice for time-related accuracy, but just not for me.
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Low-budget production with sensational writing
This story has a lot of potential. It's just not perfectly executed. I think the production should be 40 eps to properly build up the story. The way it is, things seem to be abrupt, just like a comic movie.Some people call it low budget - I have to agree. That's how it feels for me. I wish they can remake it with more budget. Sometimes I feel like I was watching one of those mini-series- lots of sensational details and abrupt scene changes.
It has all the making of the vengeful mini-series but not so extreme:
1) Abusive relationships
2) Marriage for revenge
3) Sensational thriller cliffhanger at the end of each episode to hook the audience
4) Abrupt transitions and plot holes
After eps 23, this is the first drama that I don't like the FL. That selfish ruthlessness and self-confidence. Hopefully, she will have a redemption arc. It's one thing for female to be in control but another to be selfish and not considering her partner's feelings. Female empowerment doesn't mean women losing empathy and take control of others' lives without permission.
Wow, that little girl, Fu Ling Zhi, acts better than most adults. Her eyes are so expressive.
I am all for it being a feminist drama. But I feel the writer makes the FL appear be irrational, violent, and reckless to dramatize the events. That's not a feminist view. We can be logical, patient, take the high road, and empathetic. It's frustrating to see the ML (portraying that traditional ML roles) being her teacher, telling her to be patient and logical.
It's entertaining but I am going to lower my score because I feel that overall, when compare to other dramas like The Double, Love Like the Galaxy, etc ... it should only be a 7,5 value.
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I'm IMPRESSED
This drama is not perfect....There are much more aspect to be perfected, for as this kind of revenge story is not new. BUT and it's a BIG BUT (hahahahahaha not the two "t" s), I have watched until ep 10, I'm very much enjoy every minute of it even when I'm always at the edge of seat while watching it, crying sooooo much in the beginning of the ep 10 and it's so beautiful sisters story. TT___TT
I've heard that they did much research on the costumes in the drama, well.... I like it. The budget might not be the hugest, not the most glamours set-up, makeup, and settings, but it is money well spent. They show FL's dark past well enough to make me feel her emotions, rooting for her, and believing her story and pain, the actor played FL (Chen Du Ling) done so well. I like her so much, even when she played only a small role in Love Game in Eastern Fantasy as a mirror demon, I was already rooting for her career to blooming soon after this sensational role as Zhuang Han Yan. I cannot say the same with the ML tho, I still can't feel his emotions up till ep 10 (maybe later?). FYI, I'm not usually the type to watch episodes by waiting daily, last time I watched a drama daily was Blossom, JOL 2, The Double, and Love Like The Galaxy. I still can't get enough of this drama (The Glory), will patiently wait for this to come out everyday for sureeeeeeee. The story hooked me so bad.
For as the ending, I read in the comments people who read the novel said that it is a happy ending, but as for the drama nobody can never guess. I'm hoping it is indeed a HE, but I guess If a SE is inevitable and the only logical way to part ways with this drama, I think I can accept that. Just as long as they keep the plot moves as smooth as the first 10 ep. Not many delays, not many slow motions, not many plot holes, and not many illogical and outdated conflicts or responses from the characters. It will be enough for me to keep "ciayo"-ing this drama to peak its popularity.
I think this drama is another proof that a good drama will not always be the most expensive one; good crews, good script, good director, and good actors also play the part. Wish the best for The Glory!!
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Let middle aged women shine !!
I won’t go into the flaws of this drama that others have already pointed out - such as the implausibility of the FL’s character, the monotonous acting, or the distracted screenwriting style.Instead, I’m interested in The Glory's double edged sword: its treatment of female relationships.
The drama’s strength is, without a doubt, Haiyan’s relationship with her mother: the beautifully cast Wen Zheng Rong. The mother/daughter connection is first presented as a deep emotional knot waiting to be untied over thirty episodes. From her first frames in episode one, Wen Zheng Rong is the strongest presence on screen (with kudos to the costume and makeup department who went above and beyond the brief). Mother figures in historical C-dramas are often depicted as either wicked and cunning or self-sacrificing, willing to do anything to protect their offspring. At first, thanks to some intricate unknotting in the relationship between mother and daughter, it looked like The Glory might break from convention. Unfortunately (without going into spoilers), it was not to be.
The other strength of the drama - albeit a fleeting one - is the subtextual GL relationship between Hanyan and Chai Jing. I was really hoping that I could live in my self-deluded fantasy where they could pursue their unspoken romance while the ML/FL relationship took its lavender-scented course. Alas, my fantasy crashed out a lot earlier than I was expecting.
Which brings me to the flip side of the coin. Surprisingly, I don’t think the ML is the drama’s weakness. The FL/ML relationship is, for the most part, one of mutually beneficial transaction. The ML has red flags, but no more than the FL does. And he’s not the one who destroys the aforementioned relationships between Hanyan and the two key women in her life. The writers are the guilty party.
[Admittedly there is a tiny spoiler in the paragraph below]
The writers find pretexts to remove the FL from her two close relationships with women, leaving her isolated. Unlike the FL in Story of Pearl Girl, for example, the FL in The Glory has no commercial traits that would provide her with financial independence. And thus the historical setting matched with the plot-driven isolation means she turns to the ML as a source of material support (because it’s hard to pursue revenge without food in your belly and a roof over your head). The ML therefore doesn’t need to rely on coercive methods - such as the blackmail marriage trope - because the broader plot effectively does it for him.
When the FL goes on her spree of neoliberal feminist campaigning in middle episodes, it comes across flat and hollow. By this point in the series, the writers have forbidden her from developing deep women/women relationships (romantic or platonic) and unlike other dramas of this genre, she doesn’t even have a close relationship with her maidservants.
Honestly, I could’ve given this a lower star rating. Fortunately, the show is somewhat redeemed thanks to He Hong Shan - who is a delight, as always - and Wen Zheng Rong (100000%). If nothing else, watch it for her. She steals the show.
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Boring and poorly written
The worst historical drama of all time. I've noticed the dramas of late is more for women almost completely leaving out the male leads. This is not right or fair to our chinese male leads. This is not a romance drama and the focus is more on revenge. Neither of them have any redeeming qualities and they choose to remain that way. I stopped watching it because it was that bad. This is not what love is. Love does not treat each other like this. In the past the chinese movies hates on women, abused and raped them which why I stopped watching it. Now they going back to the abuse and misuse of women. Furthermore, I hate dramas where the male lead has been married before.Biggest waste of my time. How could a 17 year old without education and experience able to achieve what no one could was just too unrealistic. The script was boring and trivial. I wasn't entertained or interested, I lament the waste of my time. Script was not interesting or exciting though the cast was excellent in their roles but the series sucked. Shame on the writers for gross negligence failing to come up with something more intelligent.Was this review helpful to you?
overall
In my opinion, it was a really cool revenge drama that kept me hooked from the very beginning until the end. I honestly didn’t expect to enjoy it this much because I usually prefer lighter romantic dramas, but this one was surprisingly interesting and had a very unique vibe. The story was written in a way that made you feel all kinds of emotions at exactly the right time. There were scenes that made me feel extremely angry and frustrated, especially when I saw how unfairly some characters were treated, and there were also moments that made me smile or even tear up because of how beautifully they were portrayed.One of the best parts of this drama, in my opinion, was the OSTs. The soundtracks were really beautiful and matched each scene so perfectly that it made everything even more emotional and impactful. There were certain songs that played during the sad or intense scenes, and they added such a deep emotional layer to the characters’ pain and struggles. Even now, after finishing the series, I still listen to some of those songs because they remind me of the atmosphere and the feelings I experienced while watching.
Also, I have to say the actors’ performances were amazing. They acted so naturally and realistically that you could easily understand and feel the pain, anger, sadness, and inner conflicts of each character. It wasn’t just the main leads; even the supporting actors did a great job in portraying their roles. You could really see how much effort they put into expressing every small detail of their characters’ personalities and emotions. It felt like you were experiencing their suffering with them, and that’s what made the whole series feel so powerful and intense.
The only issue I personally had with this drama was that I wanted to see more romantic moments between the two main characters. Their chemistry was really good, and they looked so beautiful together, but I felt like their romantic development wasn’t focused on enough. I do understand that it was mainly a revenge drama and not a romance, but still, a few more cute or heart-fluttering scenes between them would have made it even better for me as someone who loves romance in any genre.
But overall, despite this small issue, I definitely recommend this drama to anyone who enjoys revenge plots with emotional depth and realistic acting. It’s not one of those boring series that you just watch and forget. It’s a drama that leaves a strong impression on your mind because of its storyline, strong characters, and the emotions it delivers. If you’re someone who likes intense stories with a bit of romance and amazing music, then I think you should give it a try. You might end up loving it as much as I did.
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Best supporting cast ever
The Zhuangs made me go through an epic emotional roller coaster during the entire run of this show. Chen Du Ling was fantastic! It did her well to be acting with such great actors in this set.Qian Shan Cha ke writes the most intelligent villains. They make the revenge in revenge drama glorious!
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Smart but Cold
I was actually fond of the character Zhuang Han Yan, who is beautiful and intelligent. I also enjoyed the dynamic relationship between Han Yan and her mother. The plot is quite intense. However, I think this drama quite lacks romance. It's a bit tiring to see the main leads hiding their feelings for their own ends and manipulating each other. Although the main couple finds happiness in the ending, I think the romantic relationship between the two was a bit lacking because this drama focuses too much on the layered and complicated plot intrigue.Was this review helpful to you?
Fantastic beginning to end
This drama is fast paced which I love. I love a political intrigue and I don’t find that there was much filler episodes at all, every episode was so good! And some unexpected plots that had me gasping tooXYL is not as bad as every says, he’s literally got the perfect face to play that kind of role, I think he was pretty good but there has been a few scenes where he did feel a little disconnected, but defo a lot of potential
CDL new fave c actress I think!
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Prepare for plot twists at every turn
TLDR; This is the first revenge plot I've watched tbh. Plot twist galore. Thinking back from the beginning, we've come a really long way.. Story seems too convoluted to me, and there are some parts where I feel like they did it just bc plot (and I’m not gonna go heavy sleuthing abt to see if it actually makes sense). It’s not bad tho. Okay but like the sibling relationship is strong in this one even tho they're assholes lol. Acting is phenomenal and not everything is as it seems.. This show by far has put in the most effort in their music bc each song complements each other, and the lyrics are meaningful to the character dynamics. I feel like it's underappreciated, and it really adds to the scenes. Worth a rewatch if you want to catch all the details you missed before bc there's a mystery aspect too.Story: There are some parts where I don't quite understand where the plot is, esp when it comes to the mystery. The romance part of it is reeeeally slow like it's mostly a revenge story, which is fine, but it keeps going back and forth like the relationship is going nowhere, and they're always on different wavelengths a lot of the time. But I mean, it gets better near the end. Some of the character writing seems a bit off esp w/ He Wenshen when the acting doesn't fit w/ his personality, but honestly I don't think it's the actor’s fault bc I've seen his better performances on other shows. There are also a lot of girboss moments that's def directed toward the audience.
Acting: At first, I had my doubts about the actor who plays the dad bc he was the comic relief from another show, and I couldn't take him seriously for like the first 10 eps but it grew on me. The fl's mother's acting is insanely well done like I feel the emotions through the screen. Tbh I just picked those 2, but all of the actors and actresses did an amazing job. The battle scenes are well-choreographed, and I think for the most part, it's all the actors and not stunt doubles.
Music: The bg music is so dramatic lol. I appreciate that the music focuses more on the lyrics, which gets overlooked a lot of the time, and it's so poetic..
Rewatch value: Honestly so much happens that every little detail at the beginning before everything starts going downhill might foreshadow a future event, and it's def worth a rewatch if you want to figure out the tidbits you missed the first time. But for me, I'm low on brain cells to try to parse all that info lol.
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Ah-Zhi so cute
this might be Qian Shan Cha Ke's novel adaptation with the most intense suspense and minimal romance. Womanhood and ideal woman empowerment in ancient traditional era portrayed rather beautifically. Though I feel like some conflict reaolution ended rather haphazard, but I could still accept it. In the end, this drama pronounced on one thing, "Family", and it shows.Was this review helpful to you?
